Fault responsive control apparatus for automatic winding machines



Aug. 3, 1954 s. FURs 2,685,414

FAULT RESPONSIVE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC WINDING MACHINES Filed Feb. 10. 1953 Inventor? I J t Patented Aug. 3, 1954 UNITED STATE.

FAULT RESPONSIVE CONTROL APPARATUS FGR AUTOMATIC WINDING MACHINES Stefan Fiirst, Munchen-Gladbach (Rheinland) Germany, assignor to Walter Reiners, Waldniel (Niederrhein), Germany Application February 10, 1953, Serial No. 336,185

Claims priority, application Germany February 11, 1952 7 Claims. 1

My invention concerns automatic coil winding machines, particularly for the textile industry, and is related to the copending application Serial No. 227,553, filed May 22, 1951, of Walter Reiners and Stefan Fiirst, and to my copending application Serial No. 335,000, filed February 4; 1953.

The copending applications disclose apparatus for the control and efficiency improvement of automatic coil winding machines which, in response to thread breakage as well as to failures of the automatic thread-tying devices, indicate the number of frequency of such faults and also initiate an automatic replacement of the threadsupplying bobbin if the thread breakages occur too frequently. Such a control apparatus also initiates an automatic replacement of the supply bobbin if, at the beginning of a thread-tying op eration, the residual amount of thread on the supply bobbin has gone below a predetermined thickness.

Dealing with fault-responsive control apparatus of this kind, it is an object of my invention to secure the rather intricate interplay of the various components by substantially mechanical means of simple and reliable construction.

Another object of my invention is to reliably correlate the control of the thread-tying operations with the control of the bobbin-exchanging operation in such a manner that the exchanging operation can take place within the time interval needed for a complete tying operation and is completed before the tying proper commences.

To achieve these objects, and in accordance with a feature of my invention, I design the control apparatus in such a manner that, after the thread-break responsive starting of the control mechanism for the thread-tying or knotting operation, a plurality of sensing means are set in operation which simultaneously check (1) the position of a threadexhaustion responsive feeler that engages the thread between the supply bobbin and a thread tensioner, (2) the residual amount of thread still left on the supply bobbin, and also (3) the condition of a fault-counting or integrating device; and I provide for these various checking operations a corresponding number of movable parts capable of individually or jointly releasing or triggering the bobbin exchange control if this is called for by the result of the checking.

According to another feature of my invention, I provide the control apparatus with two control mechanisms, one for the thread-tying oper ation and the other for the bobbin'exchange op oration; and I make these two mechanisms individually releasable for operation but connect them by a synchronizing transmission so that when the first mechanism, controlling the tying operation, is started, it thereafter releases the second mechanism at a given early moment of the tying cycle, thus causing any then necessary bobbin exchange to occur during the initial stage of the tying operation in which the broken thread end of the take-up coil is located and prepared for subsequent knotting. In such an apparatus, the supply bobbin is exchanged before the thread ends are being tied together under control by the first mechanism.

These and other features of my invention, set forth with particularity in the claims annexed hereto, will be apparent from the following scription of the embodiment shown in schematic perspective on the drawing.

Before dealing in detail with the apparatus according to the invention proper, it will be helpful to first offer a general description of the thread-guiding and fault-responsive devices with a preliminary reference to what these devices are intended to do.

In the illustrated machine, the thread F passes from a supply bobbin 61 upwardly through a thread tensioner 62 and thence to the threadconsuming means of the machine, here represented by a coil winder. The coil winder comprises a thread guide drum 2 rotatable on a shaft 3 which guides the thread to a take-up spool 3 revolvable on a swing frame 4 which is pivoted on a stationary bearing 5. Under the weight of the frame assembly, the amount of thread coiled up on spool 3 is held against the periphery of the rotating guide drum 2 so that the thread, passing along the drum periphery, is wound onto .the spool at a constant coiling speed or at a fixed speed ratio to the revolving speed of the drum.

Between the tensioner E2 and the guide drum 2, the thread F is engaged by a feeler 6. This feeler responds to the occurrence of thread breakage and then triggers a start-stop mechanism to initiate a thread-tying operation with the result that the broken thread ends are knotted together for resumption of the coiling operation.

Another feeler 63 engages the thread between the supply bobbin 6! and the tensioner 62. This feeler responds to the absence of thread and hence comes into play when the bobbin is exhausted. The feeler then triggers another startstop mechanism which controls the bobbin-exchanging devices of the machine. Since at that 3 time the feeler is also operative, the tying control mechanism is also efiective so that the end of the new thread is joined with the end of the thread wound up on spool 3.

A bobbin feeler 63 is provided to temporarily check the residual amount of thread 68 left on the supply bobbin ET. This checking operation occurs shortly after each starting moment of the mechanism triggered by the breakage-responsive feeler 6. When the movement of feeler 55 signals the bobbin to be near exhaustion, the feeler 63 initiates a bobbin exchange to prevent an uneconomic repetition of the tying operation.

A bobbin exchange is also initiated if the thread-break feeler responds too often or too frequently, this being tantamount to an unsatis factory quality of the yarn material on the supply bobbin. The triggering of the bobbi11-exchange control mechanism, under the just-mentioned conditions, is effected by an integrating device which has a bimetal trip member 343 heated by electric current impulses under control by the operation of the feeler 6. As regards the just-mentioned feature, the illustrated apparatus is in accordance with the invention disclosed in my above-mentioned copending application Serial No. 335,000.

A more detailed description of the apparatus will be given presently.

The above-mentioned start-stop mechanism for controlling the tying operation and the bobbin-exchanging operation respectively are driven by a shaft 33 which is continuously revolving during the operation of the Winding machine.

A sheave 300 and a ratchet 33! are firmly secured to the shaft. Two control discs 302 and 303, loosely journalled on shaft 33, are firmly joined with each other by a sleeve 304. A pawl 305, pivotally mounted on control disc 302, has

.a pawl nose 306 en ageable with ratchet 30! and has an end 30': resting against a nose 303 of a trigger 303. Trigger 309 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 3!!) and is normally latched at its end 3!!. An upward projection 312 of trigger 309 carries a pivot pin 3! 3 on which an arm 3!4 is rotatable. The end 3! 5 of arm 3M bears against ratchet 30! and is joined with trigger 309 by an expansion spring 3H5. Spring 3i8 urges end 3! 5 of arm 3!4 against ratchet 30! and also imposes upon trigger 309 a triggering bias which tends to pull trigger nose 308 away from pawl end 33'! but remains inefiective as long as the trigger end 3!! abuts against a latch 318. When latch 313 is withdrawn, the trigger 309 turns counterclockwise up to a stop formed by a downwardly projecting lug 3!! of arm 3M and then releases the trigger nose 308 from pawl end 3! 1, thus permitting the pawl 305 to move its nose 303 into clutching engagement with ratchet 30!.

Latch 3 !8 is pivotally mounted on a stationary pin SH) and carries a counterpoise 320. The thread-break responsive feeler 3 is attached to latch 3!8 and rests normally against thread F at a point between two stationary abutment points 8 and 9.

A bell crank lever 32! is rotatably mounted on a shaft 3i0 and normally enters into a cam recess 323 of control disc 303.. An arm 322 of lever 33! carries an electric contact 324 to cooperate with a stationary contact 323. Contacts 324 and 320 are connected in an electric circuit 325 comprising a heater winding 323 for bimetal strip 343, and a current source 321.

Control disc 302 has a lateral dog pin 329 to cooperate with a lever 33! pivoted on a stationary pin 330. Lever 33! has a lateral strip portion 332 with three aligned openings in which respective control pins 333, 334, 335 are axially displaceable. Normally relaxed compression springs 333, 331, 338 are placed upon the respective control pins 333, 334, 335. The springs abut with their upper ends against portion 332 of lever 33! while the lower ends of the springs bear against adjustable stop rings 339, 340 and 34! respectively. The control pins are thus urged downwardly whenever the springs are put under compression by downward movement of strip portion 332.

The control pin 333 has its lower end linked to a lever 342. The control pins 334 and 335 are similarly linked to respective levers 343 and 344. The three levers 342, 343 and 344 are rotatable on a pin 345 which is stationarily supported and serves also as a pivot for a trigger 346 joined with an abutment bar 347. Lever 344 rests against a lug of the bimetal strip 343 stationarily mounted on a machine part 349. Lever 343 rests with its end against a latch nose 350 of the thread-absence responsive feeler 63. Feeler 63 is stationarily pivoted at 35 and equipped with a counterpoise 35!. Peeler 63 rests against the thread at a. place located between two fixed abutment points 34 located between the tensioner 62 and a guide 365.

The bobbin feeler 69, responsive to insufficiency of the residual amount of thread on bobbin 5?, is rotatable on a fixed pivot pin 10 and is controlled for checking movement by a linkage which joins the bobbin feeler with the tying control mechanism. The linking connection is estab lished by a rod 352 which has one end linked to feeler 09 and the other end to lever 344.

Trigger 346 has a. trip nose in engagement with an arm 353 of a pawl 355 rotatable on a lateral pivot pin 354 of a revolvable control disc 350. A shaft 35'! carries a drive sheave 353 which is connected by a transmission 359 with the sheave 300 of shaft 33 so that both shafts 35 and 35'! revolve simultaneously at correlated or equal speeds. The control disc 360 and another control disc 36! are loosely rotatable on shaft 351 and are firmly joined with each other by a sleeve 362. A ratchet 363 with teeth 334 is firmly secured to shaft 35'! to rotate together with sheave 358.

The apparatus operates as follows.

When during a winding operation a break of thread F occurs at a point above the tensioner 32, the feeler 0, under the weight of counterpoise 320, turns clockwise about pivot 3l0 and moves latch 3!8 toward the left. This releases the end 3!! of trigger 309. Trigger 309 turns counterclockwise due to the bias of spring 3H5. This causes the trigger nose 308 to be lifted from pawl end 307 so that pawl 305, under its own weight, drops clockwise about its pivot and places the pawl nose 306 between the teeth of ratchet 30! rotating in the clockwise direction. Control disc 302 is now firmly clutched with the rotating ratchet 30! through pawl 305 so that the mechanism comprising the two control discs 302 and 303, previously at rest, commences its control movement. This movement continues until the mechanism has completed one full revolution. The mechanism is then stopped as follows. During the revolution of discs 302, 303 and ratchet 30! the arm 3l4 is repeatedly lifted as its rounded end 3I5 passes over the tooth fronts of the ratchet. As a result, the trigger lever 309, then abutting against lug 3!! of arm 3l4, continually oscillates and repeatedly places its end 3 into raised position where this end may be caught by latch 3H3. As explained, the revolution of discs 332, 303 controls the tying devices of the ma chine to mend the broken thread by knotting. These tying devices proper, well known as such and not illustrated, may be geared to disc 302 or sleeve 334 or may be actuated by cams on sleeve 304.

When the tying is completed and the thread again occupies its normal path, the feeler 6 is reset to the illustrated position and the trigger and 3!! becomes latched. Normally this occurs before the mechanism completes one full revolution. Hence, at the end of that revolution, the pawl end 30! meets the trigger 303 and is caught by trip nose 303. This causes the pawl 305 to turn back to the illustrated position, thus uncoupling the disc 302 from revolving ratchet 30! and shaft 36. Of course, if a tying operation is faulty so that the thread feeler 6 does not return to its thread-engaging position, then the trigger end 3!! is not caught by the latch 358 and another tying cycle is started.

Shortly after the beginning of the above-described start-stop movement of the tying control mechanism, the dog pin 329 abuts against the lever 33! and turns it counterclockwise about pivot 330 so that strip portion 332 moves downward. This places the springs 336, 331, 333 under compression so that the control pins 333, 334, 335 exert downward pressure on levers 342, 343, 344.

As long as the bimetal strip 348 remains in the illustrated position, or the feeler 63 has not moved in response to thread exhaustion, or the residual amount of thread on bobbin 6! has not diminished below a given magnitude, the downward pressure or slight movement of levers 342, 343, 344 does not sufiice to turn the portion 34'! of trigger 346 counterclockwise the amount needed to release arm 353 of pawl 355. However, if feeler 63 responds to absence of thread between supply bobbin 6? and tensioner 62 and moves clockwise, the latch nose 350 moves toward the left, thus permitting the lever 343 to yield downwardly under the pressure of spring 331 and to impart its movement to the abutment portion 34], thus turning the trigger 346 counterclockwise. Pawl 355, under its own weight, now turns clockwise and places pawl nose 356 into engagement with the teeth 364 of ratchet wheel 363 rotating in the clockwise direction. This cornmences the revolution of the disc-and-sleeve as sembly 360, 36!, 362 which controls the bobbin exchange, being in geared or cammed connection with exchanging devices of conventional type (not illustrated). By virtue of the described sequence of operations, the bobbin exchange occurs at a predetermined time point of the tying cycle, due to the fact that the exchange control mechanism 366, 36!, 362 is driven by the transmission 306, 353, 359 in a fixed phase relation to the cycle of the tying control mechanism.

The tripping of the mechanism for the automatic bobbin exchange occurs in the same manner when the bimetal strip 348 yields sufiiciently toward the left due to heating by the pertaining heater winding 326. During each revolution of control disc 303, the lever 32! engaging the cam recess 323 is turned counterclockwise, thus placing contact 324 into engagement with contact 323. As a result, the winding 326 is heated by current from source 32'! during almost the entire start-stop revolution of the control assembly 302, 303. When the tying operations reoccur at a frequency below average, this heating is not sufiicient to deflect the bimetal strip 343 to the tripping position, but when the occurrence of thread break occurs too often so that the revolutions of the control assembly 302, 303 also recur at an excessive frequency, the heater winding 326 becomes abnormally heated and then causes the bimetal strip 348 to trip the lever 342. Then, the control mechanism 360, 36! for the exchange of the supply bobbin is released for operation by the parts 342, 34 i, 346, 353, 356 in the same manner as described above, regardless of whether or not the thread feeler 63 also deflects from its normal position.

The operation of the control assembly 360, 36! for the bobbin exchange is also started by the lever 344 when this lever is 'sufliciently forced downward by the parts 332, 335, 338, 34L This downward movement is possible only when the residual'roll 68 of thread on bobbin 6! has subsided below a given thickness. Then the feeler lever can turn clockwise about pivot 10 a distance large enough for starting the exchange control assembly through the action of parts 344, 341, 346 as described above. I I

It will be recognized that a movement of any one of the three levers 342, 343, 344 in the downward direction will start the exchange control mechanism to operate independently of the position of the adjacent control levers. Of course, any two or all three of the control levers 342, 343. 344 may simultaneously perform a downward movement resulting in the release of the bobbinexchanging operation.

An automatic coil winding machine according to the invention, aside from achieving a considerable simplification in design. oii'ers the further advantage that it readily permits having the supply bobbin-exchanging operation occur within the period of time needed for the tying operation. The tying operation comprises a series of individual actions which. prepare the joiining proper of the thread ends with the aid of a knotforming device. The tying operation commences by first stopping the ceiling unit and initiating a reversed run of the take-up coil serving to locate the broken end of the thread wound up on that coil. The time needed for locating the thread end is available and may be utilized in apparatus according to the invention for any exchange of the supply bobbin that may then be initiated by the operation of bobbin feeler 69, thread-absence feeler 63, or bimetal strip 343. Consequently, the bobbin-exchanging operation does not require time in addition to that needed for the tying operation. The bobbin exchange is terminated before the thread end of the supply bobbin is seized and joined with the thread end 7 of the take-up coil.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the textile machinery art that control apparatus accord ing to the invention permit of various modifications and may be embodied in designs other than specifically illustrated and described, without departing from the essential features of my invention and within the scope of the claims annexed hereto.

I claim:

1. A fault-responsive apparatus for the control of thread-tying operations and supply bobbin exchanges in automatic coil winding machines, comprising control means for the tying operation having a thread-break responsive feeler for starting said control means in response to thread breakage, a bobbin-exchange control mechanism having a movable trigger structure, three parts individually movable and individually engageable with said structure for moving it to trigger said mechanism, integrating means connected with said thread-break responsive feeler and engageable with one of said parts for causing it to trigger said mechanism when the thread breaks have a given minimum frequency of occurrence, a thread-absence responsive feeler means engageable with another one of said parts for causing it to move said mechanism upon exhaustion of the supply bobbin, a bobbin feeler movable to a given position only when the thread material on the bobbin is below a given amount, linking means connecting said bobbin feeler with said tying-operation control means for temporarily urging said bobbin feeler toward the material at a moment shortly after the starting of said control means, said linking means being connected with the third part for causing it to trigger said mechanism when said amount is reached.

2. In a fault-responsive control apparatus according to claim 1, said three parts consisting of respective levers, a pivot about which said three levers are individually rotatable, said trigger structure being mounted on said pivot and having a portion extending parallel to the pivot axis and engageable by said respective levers, so that rotational movement of each lever may entrain said portion for triggering said mechanism.

3. In a fault-responsive control apparatus according to claim 2, a spring connecting said linking means with the one lever that forms said third part, two springs connecting said linking -means with said respective two other levers, each of said three springs having due to movement of said linking means a spring force in the direction of the lever movement needed to trigger said mechanism, whereby said three levers are in active condition only at said moment.

4. A fault-responsive control apparatus according to claim 1, comprising three normally relaxed springs for urging when tensioned said three parts toward said releasing position, said springs being all interposed between said linking means and said respective parts to be tensioned by operation of said linking means, whereby said three parts are in active condition only at said moment.

5. With an automatic coil winding machine, in combination, a fault-responsive apparatus for the control of thread-tying operations and supply bobbin exchanges, comprising a first startstop mechanism for controlling the tying operation having a first start control member and a threadbreak responsive feeler for causing said control member to start said first mechanism, a second start-stop mechanism for controlling the bobbin exchange having a second start control member, a movable latch structure engageable with said second start control member for causing when moved to releasing position said second start control member to start said second mechanism, three parts individually movable and individually engageable with said latch structure for moving said structure to said releasing position, integrating means connected with said thread-break responsive feeler and engageable with one of said parts for causing it to move when the thread breaks have a given minim in frequency of occurrence, a thread-absence responsive feeler means engageable with another one of said parts for causing it to move upon exhaustion of the supply bobbin, a bobbin feeler movable to a given position only when the thread material on the bobbin is below a given amount, linking means connecting said bobbin feeler with said first mechanism for temporarily urging said bobbin feeler toward the material at a moment shortly after the starting of said first mechanism, said linking means being connected with the third part for causing it to move said structure to said unlatching position when said amount is reached.

6. A fault-responsive apparatus according to claim 5, comprising synchronizing transmission means connecting said second mechanism with said first mechanism, whereby said second mechanism when started at said moment operates in a fixed phase relation to the operation of said first mechanism.

'7. In a fault-responsive apparatus according to claim 6, said second mechanism having a shorter operating cycle than said first mechanism to complete an exchange operation before said first mechanism causes starting of a thread-tying proper.

Leierences Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 889,584 France Oct. 4, 1943 457,866 Italy June 12, 1950 

